tinkerbell36
DLRP Veteran/Newbie!
- Joined
- May 6, 2006
- Messages
- 194
Cast - Me, 20, HUGEEEE Disney and DLP enthusiast
DM - 46 - My similarily Disney fanatic Mum
After hitting the snooze button on my phone for the umpteenth time, I finally drag myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 3.15am - a time I would normally be pottering off to bed at! However I remind myself that it is all worth it - we are off to DLP again! We do our make up, our last minute packing and set off around 4am - with my Dad packing a duvet so he can catch a few Z's before he plays golf in Troon (near Glasgow Prestwick airport) at 9am. The car journey is very straightforward, although we encounter a mysterious mist while going through Ayrshire that made me think of London in Jack-the-ripper's time. However, the rest of the journey goes fine and Dad drops us off at around 5.15am, we say our goodbyes and boom! We notice just how busy the queues are for check in (remember the whole security thing is happening right now, in terms of hand luggage etc!). We find luckily enough that the queue for Beauvais is the shortest and it only takes around 10 minutes for us to check in and get our tickets. We decide to get a cup of tea once we have passed through security, as we are expecting the worse - however it turns out to be incredibly straightforward, and even quicker than usual - the only heightened security we notice was that we were asked if we had any cosmetics, lighters or matches in our hand luggage, they were not physically checked. On a separate point - it stuns me that they aren't allowing cosmetics on board - are they scared we're going to attack with our lipstick?! I don't understand this - plus it annoys me as I get really chapped lips, especially when flying! Anyway, we had a quick cuppa and a sandwich, buy a couple of mags (which ARE allowed on board...), and before we know it we are onboard having ANOTHER cuppa and catching up on celebrity gossip. When buying our tea we are given a raffle ticket (Ryanair is giving away free return tickets on every flight between Aug 21st and Sept 17th)...and I win the raffle! We press the attendant button and the nice guy congratulates us, gives me a form to fill in and tells us to fax it within 7 days. Even though I have to pay taxes, can only travel between Sept and Feb (excluding Xmas), I'm so happy simply because I have won something - I never, ever win ANYTHING!! And no, I did not use it in the end
! A good start to the trip though!
After a slightly turbulant landing, we arrive 20 mins ahead of schedule in a grey Paris that looks like it has been raining - however we are not surprised as the forecast for today was thundery showers. We get off, get our passports checked, grab our bags and get the bus into Paris, get the metro then RER - it was all a lot easier than it sounds!! We finally pull up to Marne-La-Vallee Chessy around 1pm, grab the Hotel Santa Fe bus - and were back!! Mum stands outside the hotel to have a "Fagmagique" as we have come to call them, and I go inside to escape the smoke. I am approached by a slightly "off" member of staff who doesn't understand that I'm waiting on my mum, and he wants me to check in immediately even though it is very quiet, however she comes in and it is all sorted. I have a seat while she goes through all the details at check in, and I'm pleasantly surprised to learn she managed to easily snag a Good Morning Fantasyland pass for the next morning at half 9
We go to our room (building 48, room 219), unpack and collapse for 3 blissful hours - avoiding a torrential downpour and storm which we do hear but thankfully are not subjected to!!
We wake around 5pm and are out by 6pm, choosing to get the bus to the park, and before we know it we are back in front of the castle, then walking through Frontierland to catch the Tarzan show, which we both love. They seem to have improved the start of the show a bit, putting 2 more girl acrobats on ropes which really makes for a busy stage! After the show we head to the Cowboy Cookout for a much needed nibble. And in doing so, encountered our second disappointing CM experience
We ordered just fine, then went to the collection area, where we were greeted by a guy who looked pretty much out of it! He took our order sheet, took a good 10 minutes to get what we wanted, then left it sitting behind the counter out of our reach!! The other staff were just as useless, wandering around, talking to each other and ignoring us, and when we got the 'out of it' guy's attention, he just wandered off without looking at us! 
We finally got one girl's attention who tried to simply give us the now cold food before we demanded new stuff which we got, though no apology. After finishing our OK meal, we had a little stroll round to POTC, where a CM outside stole my Tinkerbell brolly out my bag, put it up and ran away! Hehe, he gave it back of course and wished us a nice holiday, and this really brightened our spirits after the first weird experience! This ride is one of our favourites, so we really enjoyed it as usual, though the swinging pirate isn't back yet 
After this, we have a stroll round to Fantasyland where we go on it's a small world, and as we come out, we catch the last part of the Princess Parade, and it was really nice to hear Dancin a Catchy Rhythm again 
After this we go round to Discoveryland where we manage to get on Star Tours, which has been one of our favourites since we started coming, and we only had to wait 10 minutes - something I was not expecting in high season! We did notice generally that park was not as busy as we had anticipated, and we thought this might be down to the bad weather - but it had really brightened up and it was now a gorgeous night! After Star Tours we went on Space Mountain 2, which really woke us up! The music wasn't working though which made for a rather quiet ride! I do think I prefer the original SM though...As we exited I took a minute to get my glasses out my bag to put them back on, at the bench beside the exiting carriages, but I was shooed away by a CM which I felt was kind of unnecessary We headed round to Fantasyland again, taking our time just to stroll round and take it all in After mourning the fact that the jumping water was not working in the labyrinth, we headed into Toad Hall for some good old British fare - fish n chips for tea, though alas no brown sauce It was now 9pm already! We really enjoyed our meal, although at one point there was a bit of a disruption as a the area we were sitting in was inundated with English school kids who insisted on screaming at each other across the room, but they soon left as they figured out the restaurant had finished serving. We left around 9.50pm, and had to leave Fantasyland as it was closing to set up the fireworks. We went round to Frontierland to do Phantom Manor, which was pretty empty by this time, although no CMs went out of their way to do any spooking which was a bit disappointing. We came off, freshened up in the loos, mum had a Fagmagique, and we made our way to Indiana Jones, which was great but I do miss it going backwards, though it is a fantastic ride! It was now just past half 10 so we went over to Main Street USA and got a not bad spot just down from Caseys where we were able to see most of Fantillusion - really good parade although we felt it did drag on a bit, although we're not huge fans of parades in general so this may be why! Minnie Mouse at the back was great, just as she was in the Princess parade and really went all dancing in time to the music! It must be so great to dress up as her! After the parade we waited patiently for wishes, which we really couldn't wait to see - it had been around 4 years since we were last here when the park was open late! We had a good spot in front of the castle, though perhaps not as close as we would have liked. Finally the lights dimmed and the 'Starlight, starbright' song started, and we were blown away by the effects of the show. The fireworks we thought were completely in sync with the music, and especially loved when The Sorceror's Apprentice music started. I did get a tear in my eye, even though I thought I never would again as I have been here so many times, but 'When you wish upon a star' always gets me! After the fireworks we headed back, ended up in our room around midnight as we chose to avoid the busy buses and walk, and after trying to read for 5 mins, we were fast asleep by 1am, our alarms set for 8am the next day!
What a busy day it was! We found that the park was as busy as it was in May, and compared to our previous summer trips it was not as busy as expected. I'll post day 2 tomorrow or the next day, time allowing Hope you enjoyed the first day!!
DM - 46 - My similarily Disney fanatic Mum
After hitting the snooze button on my phone for the umpteenth time, I finally drag myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 3.15am - a time I would normally be pottering off to bed at! However I remind myself that it is all worth it - we are off to DLP again! We do our make up, our last minute packing and set off around 4am - with my Dad packing a duvet so he can catch a few Z's before he plays golf in Troon (near Glasgow Prestwick airport) at 9am. The car journey is very straightforward, although we encounter a mysterious mist while going through Ayrshire that made me think of London in Jack-the-ripper's time. However, the rest of the journey goes fine and Dad drops us off at around 5.15am, we say our goodbyes and boom! We notice just how busy the queues are for check in (remember the whole security thing is happening right now, in terms of hand luggage etc!). We find luckily enough that the queue for Beauvais is the shortest and it only takes around 10 minutes for us to check in and get our tickets. We decide to get a cup of tea once we have passed through security, as we are expecting the worse - however it turns out to be incredibly straightforward, and even quicker than usual - the only heightened security we notice was that we were asked if we had any cosmetics, lighters or matches in our hand luggage, they were not physically checked. On a separate point - it stuns me that they aren't allowing cosmetics on board - are they scared we're going to attack with our lipstick?! I don't understand this - plus it annoys me as I get really chapped lips, especially when flying! Anyway, we had a quick cuppa and a sandwich, buy a couple of mags (which ARE allowed on board...), and before we know it we are onboard having ANOTHER cuppa and catching up on celebrity gossip. When buying our tea we are given a raffle ticket (Ryanair is giving away free return tickets on every flight between Aug 21st and Sept 17th)...and I win the raffle! We press the attendant button and the nice guy congratulates us, gives me a form to fill in and tells us to fax it within 7 days. Even though I have to pay taxes, can only travel between Sept and Feb (excluding Xmas), I'm so happy simply because I have won something - I never, ever win ANYTHING!! And no, I did not use it in the end
! A good start to the trip though!After a slightly turbulant landing, we arrive 20 mins ahead of schedule in a grey Paris that looks like it has been raining - however we are not surprised as the forecast for today was thundery showers. We get off, get our passports checked, grab our bags and get the bus into Paris, get the metro then RER - it was all a lot easier than it sounds!! We finally pull up to Marne-La-Vallee Chessy around 1pm, grab the Hotel Santa Fe bus - and were back!! Mum stands outside the hotel to have a "Fagmagique" as we have come to call them, and I go inside to escape the smoke. I am approached by a slightly "off" member of staff who doesn't understand that I'm waiting on my mum, and he wants me to check in immediately even though it is very quiet, however she comes in and it is all sorted. I have a seat while she goes through all the details at check in, and I'm pleasantly surprised to learn she managed to easily snag a Good Morning Fantasyland pass for the next morning at half 9
We go to our room (building 48, room 219), unpack and collapse for 3 blissful hours - avoiding a torrential downpour and storm which we do hear but thankfully are not subjected to!!We wake around 5pm and are out by 6pm, choosing to get the bus to the park, and before we know it we are back in front of the castle, then walking through Frontierland to catch the Tarzan show, which we both love. They seem to have improved the start of the show a bit, putting 2 more girl acrobats on ropes which really makes for a busy stage! After the show we head to the Cowboy Cookout for a much needed nibble. And in doing so, encountered our second disappointing CM experience
We ordered just fine, then went to the collection area, where we were greeted by a guy who looked pretty much out of it! He took our order sheet, took a good 10 minutes to get what we wanted, then left it sitting behind the counter out of our reach!! The other staff were just as useless, wandering around, talking to each other and ignoring us, and when we got the 'out of it' guy's attention, he just wandered off without looking at us! We finally got one girl's attention who tried to simply give us the now cold food before we demanded new stuff which we got, though no apology. After finishing our OK meal, we had a little stroll round to POTC, where a CM outside stole my Tinkerbell brolly out my bag, put it up and ran away! Hehe, he gave it back of course and wished us a nice holiday, and this really brightened our spirits after the first weird experience! This ride is one of our favourites, so we really enjoyed it as usual, though the swinging pirate isn't back yet After this, we have a stroll round to Fantasyland where we go on it's a small world, and as we come out, we catch the last part of the Princess Parade, and it was really nice to hear Dancin a Catchy Rhythm again After this we go round to Discoveryland where we manage to get on Star Tours, which has been one of our favourites since we started coming, and we only had to wait 10 minutes - something I was not expecting in high season! We did notice generally that park was not as busy as we had anticipated, and we thought this might be down to the bad weather - but it had really brightened up and it was now a gorgeous night! After Star Tours we went on Space Mountain 2, which really woke us up! The music wasn't working though which made for a rather quiet ride! I do think I prefer the original SM though...As we exited I took a minute to get my glasses out my bag to put them back on, at the bench beside the exiting carriages, but I was shooed away by a CM which I felt was kind of unnecessary We headed round to Fantasyland again, taking our time just to stroll round and take it all in After mourning the fact that the jumping water was not working in the labyrinth, we headed into Toad Hall for some good old British fare - fish n chips for tea, though alas no brown sauce It was now 9pm already! We really enjoyed our meal, although at one point there was a bit of a disruption as a the area we were sitting in was inundated with English school kids who insisted on screaming at each other across the room, but they soon left as they figured out the restaurant had finished serving. We left around 9.50pm, and had to leave Fantasyland as it was closing to set up the fireworks. We went round to Frontierland to do Phantom Manor, which was pretty empty by this time, although no CMs went out of their way to do any spooking which was a bit disappointing. We came off, freshened up in the loos, mum had a Fagmagique, and we made our way to Indiana Jones, which was great but I do miss it going backwards, though it is a fantastic ride! It was now just past half 10 so we went over to Main Street USA and got a not bad spot just down from Caseys where we were able to see most of Fantillusion - really good parade although we felt it did drag on a bit, although we're not huge fans of parades in general so this may be why! Minnie Mouse at the back was great, just as she was in the Princess parade and really went all dancing in time to the music! It must be so great to dress up as her! After the parade we waited patiently for wishes, which we really couldn't wait to see - it had been around 4 years since we were last here when the park was open late! We had a good spot in front of the castle, though perhaps not as close as we would have liked. Finally the lights dimmed and the 'Starlight, starbright' song started, and we were blown away by the effects of the show. The fireworks we thought were completely in sync with the music, and especially loved when The Sorceror's Apprentice music started. I did get a tear in my eye, even though I thought I never would again as I have been here so many times, but 'When you wish upon a star' always gets me! After the fireworks we headed back, ended up in our room around midnight as we chose to avoid the busy buses and walk, and after trying to read for 5 mins, we were fast asleep by 1am, our alarms set for 8am the next day!What a busy day it was! We found that the park was as busy as it was in May, and compared to our previous summer trips it was not as busy as expected. I'll post day 2 tomorrow or the next day, time allowing
Hope you enjoyed the first day!!
Somehow I get the impression the swinging pirate won`t work again until after the next rehab in 2007... what`s wrong with that guy? 
